# Commonly believed trivia that is wrong **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 21, 2010, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-believed-trivia-that-is-wrong/540214 "2010-05-21T03:48:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-believed-trivia-that-is-wrong/540214/21 "2010-05-21T15:15:29Z")
> [@NinetyWt](#): > > I still hear people say a 100-year flood happens once in a hundred years. For example if you experience such a flood, “oh it will be 100 years before that happens again!”. > > That is not true, however. The probability is that we expect that magnitude of flood to occur at least once within that 100-year period; more properly, that maginitude of flood has a 1% chance of occuring within any given year. In fact, it has a 26% chance of occuring within a 30-year period of time. > > [Cite](http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/100yearflood.html) This is something that the poor folks in North Dakota are starting to learn - they’ve had 3 (or more) “100-year floods” in the past 15 years. They’re getting to be yearly now, almost. ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-believed-trivia-that-is-wrong/540214/22 "2010-05-21T15:18:01Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > 1. Babe Ruth, 715 You may want to check this number… ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-believed-trivia-that-is-wrong/540214/23 "2010-05-21T15:18:04Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Turkeys are so stupid that they’ll look up at the rain until they drown. > > [Or not](http://www.snopes.com/critters/wild/turkey.asp). And ask any hunter - wild turkeys are pretty smart, and hard to hunt successfully. Or so my friend tells me. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-believed-trivia-that-is-wrong/540214/24 "2010-05-21T16:09:58Z")
Eating carrots doesn’t improve your eyesight. The story behind this myth is [pretty cool](http://www.snopes.com/food/ingredient/carrots.asp). ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-believed-trivia-that-is-wrong/540214/25 "2010-05-21T17:51:07Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > If someone _actually_ intends to include foreign leagues, Negor Leagues, Minor Leagues, Little League, or any other leagues, then you would be correct. But who the hell in America is ever talking about leagues other than Major League Baseball? Careers in different leagues should not be compared with each other since they are _different_. High School and College stats don’t carry over to Pros either. > This isn’t a “false statistic” in my opinion. I think you’re being a bit of a dick if you jump in with “Sadaharu Oh!!” when people are clearly talking about Major League Baseball. Why exactly is this a favorite of yours, anyway? That’s exactly why it’s my favorite, Americans go batshit insane when you bring up international baseball. 😃 It was even funnier before Bonds, when it was sacrilege to even hint that Aaron or Ruth weren’t the all-time leaders. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-believed-trivia-that-is-wrong/540214/26 "2010-05-21T18:41:16Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > That’s exactly why it’s my favorite, Americans go batshit insane when you bring up international baseball. 😃 > > It was even funnier before Bonds, when it was sacrilege to even hint that Aaron or Ruth weren’t the all-time leaders. But “Saduharu Oh” is also mistaken, in that the all-time record is 1164 HRs, held by Johnny Aleo, who lived across the street from me in Brooklyn in the 1950s. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-believed-trivia-that-is-wrong/540214/27 "2010-05-21T18:51:21Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Eating carrots doesn’t improve your eyesight. The story behind this myth is [pretty cool](http://www.snopes.com/food/ingredient/carrots.asp). Ever see a rabbit wearing glasses? HA! Actually, that’s a pretty cool story. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-believed-trivia-that-is-wrong/540214/28 "2010-05-21T18:55:12Z")
[quote=“picunurse, post:6, topic:540214”] [Charles Richard Drew](http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventors/drew.htm), the founder of the blood banking system, _was_ killed in a car accident. He was not refused treatment in an all white hospital. He arrived DOA. > [@](#): > > Mankind suffered a great loss in 1950 when, at the age of 45, Dr. Drew was killed in an automobile accident while driving to a scientific conference. His pioneering medical work has endured. How many lives have been saved because of his genius at turning basic biological research into practical production methods is impossible to determine. But it is a certainty that mankind owes a debt of gratitude to Charles Richard Drew. MASH had an episode that repeated this urban legend, and has probably helped keep the rumor alive for new generations to fall for. ---
**Author:** ![moldybread](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@moldybread](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moldybread)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-believed-trivia-that-is-wrong/540214/29 "2010-05-21T19:11:14Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > the probability your airplane has a bomb onboard is 1 in a million. The probability of _two_ bombs is therefore 1 in a trillion, which is almost impossible odds. That’s why i always carry a bomb with me: It’s then almost impossible there will be a _second_ bomb. NICE!!! ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-believed-trivia-that-is-wrong/540214/30 "2010-05-21T19:58:04Z")
Corvairs were [no less stable](http://www.corvaircorsa.com/handling01.html) than any other contemporary cars. And Nader’s book isn’t what killed the Corvair - that would be the Mustang. In fact, Chevy [continued Corvair production longer](http://www.online-racer.com/corvair&mustang.htm) than they had intended to in response to Nader’s book. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-believed-trivia-that-is-wrong/540214/31 "2010-05-21T20:24:15Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Corvairs were [no less stable](http://www.corvaircorsa.com/handling01.html) than any other contemporary cars. > > And Nader’s book isn’t what killed the Corvair - that would be the Mustang. In fact, Chevy [continued Corvair production longer](http://www.online-racer.com/corvair&mustang.htm) than they had intended to in response to Nader’s book. I had one. Small engine, very light car. So it had a lot of zip, possibly more zip than a car that size should have. (And hundreds of things wrong with it. When I say “more zip” I of course only refer to the times it was actually running.) It handled really well in optimum conditions, but was quite unstable on anything even slightly slick, for instance asphalt highway right after beginning of rain. I think if it had been front-wheel drive, with the engine in the rear, that would have helped a lot. I read somewhere but can’t find a source (or even the quote) that in its first two years of production the Corvair had more recalls than any other auto up to that date. My aunt had one and when it was about three months old, the steering wheel fell off. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-believed-trivia-that-is-wrong/540214/32 "2010-05-21T20:50:52Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > I had one. … was quite unstable on anything even slightly slick, for instance asphalt highway right after beginning of rain. > … > I read somewhere but can’t find a source (or even the quote) that in its first two years of production the Corvair had more recalls than any other auto up to that date. I drive a 62 coupe. Never experienced any instability other than the wierdness you expect of disc brakes when wet. I’ve done a bit of reading on them and never heard about the recalls. In fact, I’m not sure but I think recalls were quite unusual for any car manufacturer at the time. And I’ve never heard of any widespread problem with steering wheels falling off. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-believed-trivia-that-is-wrong/540214/33 "2010-05-21T21:12:41Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > But “Saduharu Oh” is also mistaken, in that the all-time record is 1164 HRs, held by Johnny Aleo, who lived across the street from me in Brooklyn in the 1950s. Ah, and that’s why the question is phrased to include international leagues but exclude minor leagues, little leagues, etc. and the cite is required. 😃 I believe Sadaharu Oh is also recognized by the Guiness Book of World records, but I couldn’t get the cite online. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-believed-trivia-that-is-wrong/540214/34 "2010-05-21T21:27:10Z")
Ben Franklin did not want the turkey to be the national symbol of the United States. He mentioned it once, jokingly, in a letter eight years later. [He may have wanted the rattlesnake as the American symbol.](http://fi.edu/qa99/musing3/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-believed-trivia-that-is-wrong/540214/35 "2010-05-21T21:56:25Z")
Since my specialty is religion, how about “Rabbis make food kosher by blessing it”? I have heard this one all over the place. No, there isn’t a rabbi standing in the meat-packing plant and waving his hand over the chickens. He’s just there to supervise. [One cite out of many.](http://www.jewishworldreview.com/kosher/living_2004_03_10_04.php3) ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-believed-trivia-that-is-wrong/540214/36 "2010-05-21T22:05:20Z")
If a flatworm eats another flatworm, it won’t gain all the knowledge of the eaten. > **[If Flatworm A eats Flatworm B, will it absorb Flatworm B’s knowledge?](https://www.straightdope.com/21343158/if-flatworm-a-eats-flatworm-b-will-it-absorb-flatworm-b-s-nbsp-knowledge)** > > A STAFF REPORT FROM THE STRAIGHT DOPE SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-believed-trivia-that-is-wrong/540214/37 "2010-05-21T22:42:37Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > Ah, and that’s why the question is phrased to include international leagues but exclude minor leagues, little leagues, etc. and the cite is required… You didn’t phrase the question like that, though. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-believed-trivia-that-is-wrong/540214/38 "2010-05-21T22:53:58Z")
Including a final comma in a series, the one just before the “and” is not incorrect. In fact, it’s standard usage for most editors; only newspapers work from a different style manual and tend to exclude it. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-believed-trivia-that-is-wrong/540214/39 "2010-05-22T01:38:10Z")
Income tax is not unconstitutional. Furthermore, not filling out/stapling/mailing/etc your federal tax forms will not have any significant effect on anything. At most, if you hand-write your personal information upside down and staple all the pages together, what will happen is: your forms will be processed exactly the same way, only it will take seconds longer. If enough people do this, then the net result will be the low-paid saps who enter your information into the computer will get to work overtime, which means the IRS will pay them more, which means the IRS will use up even more of it’s budget, which means that for next year their budget may be increased. So it’s probably not the best way of sticking it to the man. > [@lissener](#): > > Including a final comma in a series, the one just before the “and” is not incorrect. In fact, it’s standard usage for most editors; only newspapers work from a different style manual and tend to exclude it. \ Curious that the one form of writing which has the primary goal not of being artistic but of expressing ideas with utter clarity and succinctness recommends against it. I mean, I fully respect your right to use the serial comma, but I choose to separate myself from such a depraved and godless lifestyle. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-believed-trivia-that-is-wrong/540214/40 "2010-05-22T02:10:55Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Including a final comma in a series, the one just before the “and” is not incorrect. In fact, it’s standard usage for most editors; only newspapers work from a different style manual and tend to exclude it. Extra tidbit: This is also known as the [Oxford Comma or Harvard Comma](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_comma). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-believed-trivia-that-is-wrong/540214.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-believed-trivia-that-is-wrong/540214.md?page=3)